The first big decision in Bitcoin comes when buying, but that entry point is a necessity. Then comes the decision of where to buy the bitcoins or ERC20 tokens. You can go to CoinBase or an exchange like Binance. Bitcoin can even be purchased on the Cash App. But then what?

Most people want to dabble in the space will not use the cryptocurrencies as intended, but just as a way to watch their bank accounts increase once they cashed out. But until then, where should these stores of value actually be stored? Leave it on the exchange and maybe not have full control or receive forks benefits, or move your crytpotreasures to a wallet under your control.

Most suggest moving everything to a cold, hard storage option. However, that option presents the worst-case scenario of bitcoin. Once you've told your family, friends, co-workers, and social media mobs about bitcoin, you also want to brag about how it made you rich! Lambos for everyone! Then you lose your passcodes, your seed phrases, everything. That little book you wrote everything down in, it is gone. Vanished. This highlights a huge shortcoming of cryptocurrency. It's a real problem.

Once you have lost all these codes and keys and seed phrases for your ledger the house will be destroyed from looking for it. You'll be completely wiped of ideas of where it may be, as will your wallet be wiped clean if you try the wrong password or phrases too many times. Now all those people you told about Bitcoin are tired of hearing how Bitcoin is on a run but you lost all your retirement money on sloppy memory. Such a safe and unhackable technology, but why adopt it for these hassles?

Everything that was left on CoinBase or an exchange is right where you left it. That was not supposed to be the case when you got the advice from those supposed more knowledgeable. It will feel even worse if one of those cousins of yours actually followed through with a CoinBase Earn link and has a few thousand dollars worth of assets.